It Was You
by The Head Reviewer
Summary: Because it wasn't Katherine who sent Damon spiraling down the path to hell.


_Disclaimer: I don't own anything blah blah blah.  
_

In the case of one Salvatore brother, he was both the victim and the villain.

_"You're better than this."_

_"That's where you're wrong."_

No, he wasn't. He wasn't human. He didn't feel. He didn't know any better and she was wrong. He was determined to prove her wrong.

_"Lie about this."_

He challenged her, placing all he had on the table. The stakes were ridiculously high and she had called his bluff. He had lost everything, everything that he worked so hard to earn- her trust, her sympathy, her friendship- and that was _before _he killed her brother.

It was always going to be Stefan, for the both of them. Stupid bitches. He didn't need them. He didn't need anyone. He was Damon-fucking-Salvatore.

He picked up a stick from the forest floor, digging it into his forearm. He dragged it across his forearm, watching his flesh cut open and ooze with blood. He grabs the vial of vervain he has beside him, pouring it lazily onto the wound, preventing it from healing and feeling its burn. He takes the bottle of vodka beside him and takes a drink, swishing the bitter taste of it around in his mouth.

_"I care about you."_

If she cared so _fucking _much, why did she lie? Lie straight to his face and more importantly to herself. Even goddamn Stefan could see it. And he was sure she could too. If Stefan could admit that there was the slightest bit of attraction between them, why couldn't she.

That mindless whore.

He slashes the stick through his flesh once again, before soaking it with vervain, the skin puckering as it sizzles from the acid. Even his dear old brother didn't want to destroy the one human thing inside him and yet Elena managed to rip it from his insides, holding it up for the world to see.

Because she had conquered the great Damon Salvatore and she didn't even want him. Tossed him aside and leaving him feel used. When Stefan went out on a human-blood bender, was Elena abandoned?

Of no.

Damon was there, right by her side through the whole process of getting Stefan clean again. He saved her life on multiple occasions and chose to ignore the fact that he threatened it several times as well.

She should have just let him die. She had so many opportunities to.

Everything would be better off if she had.

He can't feel his arms anymore but he uses all the energy that's left in his body to do one last thing.

* * *

Running faster and faster, Elena sprints her way through the forest, tripping and stumbling over various rocks and branches. Stefan already took off, running much faster than she could even imagine.

She reaches a clearing and finds herself with her hands on her knees, wheezing. Elena looks up to see Stefan, unusually stiff and rigid, his hands balled up into fists.

Inside Stefan's right hand is a piece of paper- a note- crumpled into a tight ball. He stares down at the ground where Elena's eyes also stare, bulging out of their sockets.

"Why would she do this to him? I thought she and him were..." Elena sputters out, not able to believe what she sees.

Stefan's fist curls around the note tighter. "No," he forces out. "It wasn't Katherine."

Elena's eyes grow wider. "He did this? To himself?" She falls to her knees, still panting from her run. She hovers over the body, her eyes absorbing the horrific sight.

Stefan stands tensely, his eyes dark and brow furrowed.

"Why?" Elena squeaks. She can't help but let a small tear of sadness and remorse glass over her eye. She cries silently for a while, shaking her head. Stefan stares down at the thing that was once his brother, detatched.

Suddenly, Elena gets angry. "That. Evil. Bitch," Elena hisses through her teeth. "She did this. She came and took everything that was good about him and ruined it."

Blinking, Stefan notes the hypocrisy in Elena's statement. It was only a few hours ago she was disagreeing with the very words that slipped from her lips. He shakes his head.

"No," Stefan says firmly.

Elena looks up at him, her eyes almost challenging him to contradict her. He thinks back to the note that lay next to Damon. Writing messily scrawled over a scrap of paper, the letters smudged in several places from spilled vodka.

"No," Stefan repeats like a zombie. He clears his throat and feels his hand curl around the paper even tighter. He's shaking now from the tension. "You did."

The words come out in a bare whisper and Elena falls back in disbelief.

"Me?" Elena asks him, unable to believe what Stefan just said.

Stefan releases his fist, letting the note drop to the floor. "It was you," he says, his tone almost accusing her. "You took the one thing that made him human. He loved you, Elena," Stefan's voice cracks as he struggles over the words. "Katherine didn't destroy his humanity. You did."

Elena doesn't know whether to sob over Damon's dead body or kill herself from the guilt. She stares at Damon's face, gray and lifeless, gray veins popping up everywhere.

_I did this to him, _Elena thinks to herself a tears well up in her eyes. She doesn't have long to mourn over his body because Stefan interrupts.

"If you'll excuse me," Stefan says, slight bitterness tracing his words, "I have to go and bury my brother."

Burn is more like it.

And so with a heavy heart, Stefan Salvatore watches as his brother's body goes up in flames.

For the first time in 146 years, Stefan is without the man who vowed to give him an eternity of misery. He's without the man whom he called brother and shared the same flesh and blood. For the first time in 146 years, Stefan felt a strange sense of relief but at the same time, never felt lonelier.

_Ashes to ashes, we all fall down. _

_FIN_

**A/N: Okay, so I was all pepped up to write some happy stuff but the season premiere was just so SAD. I cried for Damon so hard. I kinda hated Elena, if you could tell from my story. Damn, Katherine is sexy. I love her so much. Nina Dobrev is so talented. It's so awesome seeing her act like Ian/Damon. How did you feel about the switch on focus in the second half from Elena to Stefan. I just love some Damon/Stefan brotherly loving. Remember to leave a review and head over to my profile page to have a say in some of my future fics. I just want to know what my readers want because I'd hate for you to be getting tired of my doom and gloom. **_  
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